Yvonne Strahovski

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After a protracted 19-month hiatus, " Louie " returns in what feels like midseason form - which is to say, mixing together moments of enormous discomfort, occasional hilarity and just plain weirdness. If anything, the first batch of episodes finds Louis C.K.'s auteur vehicle more personal and scattered than ever, flitting among plots within episodes -- almost like animated programs with two shorts in each half-hour -- and just generally advancing the grim worldview that while death is inevitable, the indignities associated with life aren't necessarily a more desirable alternative.

Jack Bauer is back, and enthusiasm regarding " 24: Live Another Day " (or really, at 12 episodes, another half-day) will likely be split, depending on whether news of the project evoked, "Wow! Can't wait!" or, "Seriously? Again? Just how desperate is Fox ?" As a member of the latter camp -- why not let the man find a nice beach somewhere instead of dragging this out into "Expendables" territory? -- it's safe to note that the two-hour premiere is ably executed and effectively paced, which is to say, like sundry past seasons.

The nerds may come to Comic-Con for the comicbooks, collectibles and chance to meet the creators of their favorite properties, but much of Hollywood also has the parties to hit up in San Diego. It all began Wednesday with Summit Entertainment's big vampire franchise, which said farewell with the "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2" bash at the Hard Rock Hotel's Float bar. Guests Maggie Grace, Morgan Spurlock and Zachary Levi, "Breaking Dawn" stars Guri Weinberg, Angela Sarafyan, Noel Fisher and Elizabeth Reaser,milled about the rock 'n' roll themed patio as clips from the pic played on an infinite loop poolside and Pinkberry was served.

1. 'How I Met Your Mother' 7 p.m., WBBM-Ch. 2 Ted (Josh Radnor) meets a great girl, but his friends immediately zero in on a flaw that they can't get past. This leads to much sniping. Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris (right), Cobie Smulders and Alyson Hannigan also star. 2. 'Chuck' 7 p.m., WMAQ-Ch. 5 Chuck (Zachary Levi) is torn when he meets a pretty young woman (guest star Rachel Bilson, "The O.C.") who actually seems to like him. But there's this little matter of his other life and relationship with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski)

Abject begging isn't pretty, but "Chuck" (7 p.m. Central Monday, WMAQ-Ch. 5) deserves it. The show is in danger of cancellation, but this delightful spy dramedy should absolutely get a third season. So, it's begging time: Please watch Monday's "Chuck" and the April 27 episode, which finishes off the show's second season. I adore this show and would be truly saddened if it didn't return. In the course of doing this job, I've become much more accepting about TV cancellations.

It's official: Amazon .com's Prime Instant Video is now the exclusive streaming service for all eight seasons of Fox's "24" and will also be the only SVOD service to offer event series " 24: Live Another Day " later this year. Announcement comes after Netflix revealed last month that its rights to "24" would expire April 1 . Amazon wrangled the exclusive to let subscribers binge on the original real-time thriller in advance of Fox's May 5 debut of "24: Live Another Day."

Tech-support guy Chuck Bartowski may not get any glory -- no one outside the espionage community knows hundreds of classified secrets were accidentally stored in his brain. But he does get to have interesting experiences. On Monday, for example, he travels into the third dimension, via a very enjoyable 3-D episode of "Chuck" (7 p.m. Monday, WMAQ-Ch. 5 . 1/2). In the episode, Chuck (Zachary Levi) ends up playing bodyguard for an unruly rock star, Tyler Martin (Dominic Monaghan from "Lost")

" Dexter " had been running on creative fumes the past few seasons, and Sunday night's series finale -- despite its emotional flourishes -- merely underscored that this was a series well past its expiration date. Some of the sloppiness in the finish was perhaps the biggest surprise, given how meticulous its serial-killer leading man usually is. For starters (and be warned: SPOILERS lie ahead), the show took its time this season before finally settling on an antagonist for Dexter, played brilliantly, as always, by Michael C. Hall . But the notion of essentially giving him a spiritual twin -- another killer, with similar appetites, born to the woman (Charlotte Rampling)

American tenor Rene Barbera, a third-year ensemble member of Lyric Opera's Ryan Opera Center, took top honors in three categories at the 2011 Operalia Competition on Sunday in Moscow. The international opera contest, founded by tenor Placido Domingo in 1993, is one of the most prestigious in the world. Sunday's finals were webcast internationally. Barbera, 27, won the men's first prize for opera ($30,000), men's prize for zarzuela ($10,000) and the audience favorite prize. His selections included a Donizetti aria and a zarzuela song.

Broadcast networks usually are more exacting than scissor-happy hairdressers. Instead of lopping off locks, TV's big five have been known to mercilessly cut new shows as soon as the ratings start to lag and even faster if anyone fails to tune in at all. Such a track record makes the current 2008-09 season quite unusual, thanks to the uncharacteristically high number of sophomore shows the networks have held onto for a second chance. All told, ABC has five, NBC has three, The CW has two, and CBS and Fox each have one, bringing the grand total to a whopping 12. Had it not been for the 100-day Writers Guild of America strike, which came to an end in February, half of these shows would have been canceled faster than viewers could get comfy on their couches.